Record attendance at Virginia State Parks in 2016

Virginia State Parks attendance in 2016 hit a record-high 10,022,698 visitors, which was a 12 percent increase over 2015. Virginia State Parks, managed by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), hosted more than 1 million overnight visitors in cabins and campgrounds in 2016, an increase of nearly 3 percent over 2015.

“Virginia’s state park system is the best in the country, and more Virginians and visitors are taking advantage than ever before,” said Governor McAuliffe. “State Parks are a vital part of communities large and small, attracting visitors to the region and generating substantial tourism revenue that directly benefits our local economies. From opening Natural Bridge State Park to making historic investments in the Virginia Treasures Program, this administration has worked hard to protect and expand opportunities to interact with the countless natural and historic attractions our Commonwealth has to offer. I want to thank the staff at the Department of Conservation and Recreation for their hard work making our state park system a world-class asset for the people of Virginia.”

“When attendance increases, so does the economic impact of the state park system,” said Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Director Clyde Cristman. “Visitors spend money in the parks, in local communities and traveling to and from parks. Our 37 state parks have an impact of more than $222 million on Virginia’s economy.”

“Multiple factors contributed to our new attendance record, overall good weather, lower gas prices and the year-long celebration of our 80^th anniversary,” said Virginia State Parks Director Craig Seaver. “Last year, a record-high 548,398 people attended our ranger-led environmental and historic programs, an increase of 23 percent over 2015. So there’s no single cause we can point to as a reason for the increases. It’s obvious that more people find value spending time in a Virginia State Park.”

The addition of Natural Bridge State Park, which is in Rockbridge County, accounted for 45,869 visitors since DCR assumed management on September 24, 2016. The increases also came despite the fact that several parks in the Tidewater and Northern Neck regions were closed for weeks because of hurricanes. The storms negatively affected their visitation, overnight attendance and revenue.

A specific breakdown and attendance summary of each DCR park can be found here.